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Liam Lawson ahead of a practice before the 2022 F1 Grand Prix at Abu Dhabi.
Liam Lawson, 21, will become New Zealand’s 10th Formula One driver and the youngest since a 19-year-old Mike Thackwell in 1980.
Pukekohe-based Lawson will make his debut at the Dutch Grand Prix on Monday as an injury replacement for AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo.
It’s been a meteoric rise for the young Kiwi who linked with the Red Bull racing franchise – AlphaTauri’s sister team – in 2019 as a Formula 3 driver.
Lawson will be the first Kiwi to line up on a F1 grid since the end of Brendon Hartley’s two-season career in the big-time with Toro Rosso in 2018.
It’s not unusual, however, for a youthful New Zealander to get a F1 crack.
The late Bruce McLaren was also 21 when he debuted at the German Grand Prix in 1958 and he became the youngest Grand Prix winner in history when he won the United States race at 22 in 1959.
Auckland Star/Stuff
New Zealander Chris Amon flashes along in the lead in the 1968 New Zealand Grand Prix. Kiwi compatriot Denny Hulme is in the No 3 car.
Chris Amon – often rated one of the best F1 drivers never to win a race – was 20 when he made his debut in 1960.
However, Denny Hulme – New Zealand’s only F1 champion after winning the 1967 title – was three weeks short of his 29th birthday when he made his bow in 1965.
Liam Lawson takes Red Bull Formula 1 car for a spin around Mount Panorama.
Other Kiwi F1 competitors – Howden Ganley (1971), Graham McRae (1973) and John Nicholson (1974) were in their early 30s before they got their first break.
Thackwell was still a teenager when he became F1’s fifth-youngest starter in 1980 at the Canada Grand Prix, but his only other start came in the same event in 1984.
Hartley was 27 on debut in 2017 and was New Zealand’s first F1 racer for 33 years since Thackwell’s last race, but he was let go by Toro Rosso after the 2018 campaign.
Supplied
Bruce McLaren was the first New Zealander to race in Formula One and became its youngest race winner at the time in 1959, aged 22.
His 25 F1 races placed him fifth on the list of Kiwi driver appearances behind Hulme (112), Amon (108), McLaren – who died in a practice crash in 1970, aged 32 after 104 starts, and Ganley (41).
Lawson, like Hartley, cut his racing teeth in karting, winning a couple of championships as a junior before stepping up to single-seater race cars, winning the NZ Formula Ford championship in 2017 and the Toyota Racing Series crown a year later.
He joined the Formula 3 circuit five seasons ago, finishing 11th in his rookie year in 2019 and fifth in 2020.
Lawson got the call-up to FIA Formula 2 in 2021 and was ninth after one win and three podiums.
He improved to third in 2022 after four victories and 10 podium finishes.
Lawson had his first F1 test drive with Red Bull in 2022, earning praise from the team’s world champion driver Max Verstappen, who said: “Liam did a really good job in FP1, he was calm and steady which is exactly what we needed,” Verstappen said.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Liam Lawson of New Zealand driving the (40) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico last October.
His promise earned him a place in the Japan-based Super Formula series, which is sometimes seen as a proving ground for potential F1 drivers.
The Kiwi linked with reigning champions, Team Mugen, joining Japanese ace Tomoki Nojiri – the 2021 and 2022 series winner.
Lawson claimed an impressive victory on Super Formula debut in April after qualifying third on the grid at Fuji Speedway.
He passed teammate Nojiri on his way to becoming the first Super Formula driver to win on debut since the series began in 1996.
Lawson has won three Super Formula races this season and is second on the top driver standings, eight points behind leader Ritomo Miyata and two ahead of Nojiri.
The Japan series is having a mid-season break, allowing Lawson his F1 chance.
Getty-Images
Brendon Hartley of New Zealand driving the (28) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR13 Honda on track during practice for the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in 2018.
AT A GLANCE
New Zealand’s Formula 1 drivers
Bruce McLaren (1958-1970)
Tony Shelly (1962)
Chris Amon (1963-1976)
Denny Hulme (1965-1974)
Howden Ganley (1971-1974)
Graham McRae (1973)
John Nicholson (1974-75)
Mike Thackwell (1980, 1984)
Brendon Hartley (2017-18)
Liam Lawson (2023)
Most Starts
Hulme (112)
Amon (108)
McLaren (104)
Ganley (41)
Hartley (25)
Most Wins
Hulme (8)
McLaren (4)
Most Podiums
Hulme (33)
McLaren (27)
Amon (11)
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